1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for unwinding fiber from a spool, and most particularly to a fiber spooling machine that uses an optical sensing method to detect the fiber position as it is unwound from a spinning spool and automatically positions itself to be aligned with the fiber.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a fiber (or wire) spooling machine, which unwinds the fiber from a payout spool and rewinds it onto a take-up spool, a device that tracks the position of the fiber as it comes off the payout spool is often required. This device is referred to as a follower and ensures that the path of the fiber coming off the spool is perpendicular with respect to the spool's axis of rotation. This is advantageous for preventing fiber (or wire) damage, which could occur if the angle between the fiber path and the spool axis becomes too large, as the fiber would then be dragged over adjacent wraps.
On a system that only unwound spools with a known and consistent fiber wind pitch and known and consistent spool dimensions, a spooling machine design would be trivial. A follower on such a system could consist of a spinning pulley mounted on a linear slide that would move back and forth, parallel to the spool axis at a known distance and at the specified pitch. Wound spools with known and consistent fiber winding pitch and spool dimensions are rarely the case. Many variables can complicate the required operation of a follower. First, the fiber pitch often varies between spools and on a single spool. Spool flange dimensions vary due to wear or manufacturing tolerances. The follower linear axis is also often set up incorrectly with respect to the position of the spools. In order to compensate for these variations the follower would need to adaptively position itself based on the actual position and angle of the fiber as it comes off the payout spool.